Riptide
by Chayin
Summary: Even at a young age Haru wanted nothing more than to be free; which was considerably harder for a young noble. The day Haru got too close to shore and met Rin everything changed. After all, humans were dangerous to mermaids.
1. Chapter 1

_Here's my shot at a Free! story. I'm excited to start on this project (And have not abandoned Flash of Ruby) and can't wait to see where this goes!  
_

_(Cover photo credits go to KBN on Pixiv)_

_Enjoy~_

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~o~

**Chapter 1:**

Don't resist. Use every part of your being and embrace the water as a part of yourself.

That was one of the things Haru loved most about water; the unification of it all. Even at a young age Haru knew how to become one with the water around him and allow it to carry him. After all, it wasn't as if he didn't have all the time in the world to spend in the ocean; it was his home.

Not a metaphorical home either. It was his literal home, one that he couldn't even leave; fins really didn't do him any good on land or anything.

With all of this time to practice his swimming he perfected his style, he was always a good swimmer but he just got faster and faster and eventually none of his friends could keep up with him anymore. At a mere 10 years old with no real competition among his mermaid friends he was forced to look elsewhere for a challenge, and the nearby pods of dolphins were always eager to play with him and race with him for hours. Haru liked swimming with his friends plenty, he just happened to like swimming with the dolphins _more. _They were much faster and grew tired less easily- and they never went easy on him. The older mermaids would go easy on Haru while the ones his own age grew bored of constant defeat, but the dolphins made a perfect competitor for Haru.

So about every day around noon when the younger mermaids were being watched over he would take this as his free time and swim to the surface to race with the dolphins. He wasn't exactly _allowed_ to go all the way up to the surface but he was getting older now and Sasabe-san would turn a blind eye to him racing the dolphins, as long as he came back before the sun set.

On this particular day the dolphins raced Haru closer to shore than usual, they were close enough that Haru could just see the shoreline and could hear the faint buzz from the city. He'd never been so close to land before, it was absolutely forbidden and "dangerous." After a few laps of swimming the dolphin pod started to swim away and lost interest in racing, leaving the curious Haru alone with the mysterious shore. He checked around to see if there were any other mermaids who would catch him, but even he knew that nobody would try to come out this far. He'd only ever heard rumors about humans, the merfolk told him what they looked like and how they lived but Haru never really understood the whole "legs" thing.

He found himself drawn closer and closer to the shore. The water was shallow there, his tail was almost brushing the sand while his head was still above the water. The noise from the humans was much louder, he could see trees clearly and the outlines of what he thought were what they called "houses." It was when he was this close that he heard splashing, someone swimming in the ocean. He dipped under the water and peered around, finding a red blur swimming back and forth not too far away. He tried to be silent and go unnoticed, only peeking above the water as the figure swam back and forth and back and forth.

It was fast. He wanted to challenge it and see if he could win but what if it was a human? Would it really be that dangerous? It wasn't too much bigger than himself and it didn't seem to be too dangerous or hungry so it wouldn't eat him. He waded closer to the swimming figure and watched a while longer until the creature stopped swimming. Haru's heart was pounding, he knew he should leave before he gets noticed. Sasabe was going to kill him if he found out he went this close to shore. He tried to dive down but wasn't used to the water being so shallow and he scraped up his arms on the shells of the ocean floor. He resurfaced, wincing in pain and picked the little shards of shells out of his arms and watched a little stream of blood come from the scrape. He was about to swim away again but it was too late, he was already noticed.

"Oi! Where'd you come from?" Haru didn't glance back, he started to swim out but the creature started to chase after him.

"Hey wait a minute! Where are you going? You shouldn't go out that far here, it's dangerous!" Haru could sense the creature getting closer and closer so he peeked behind him to meet a pair of shining ruby eyes and a row of sharp pointy teeth.

"Ah I'm sorry please don't hurt me!" The creature stopped.

"Hurt you? Why would I hurt you?" Haru stopped as well, a good distance from him and glanced back warily.

"I…don't know. Are you a shark? I've never seen one in person but Makoto tells me they have a lot of sharp teeth and are really dangerous and I don't want to be eaten." He was responded to with laughter from the other.

"Of course I'm not a shark, I just have sharp teeth." Haru stared closely at the other creature and saw how he was swimming, when he bobbed under the water he could see two long things splashing beneath him instead of a tail. He felt his heart stop.

_Legs. _

He knew he should swim away and never come back to the shore, surely Sasabe would know he was with a human. He suddenly wished that he actually _were_ a shark.

However…he couldn't bring himself to swim away. The human seemed smaller than all of the ones that everyone talked about, he actually seemed just about his age. And he was _such a fast swimmer_. He certainly didn't _seem_ dangerous.

"So what's your name?" The human boy asked, sharp teeth in a grin. Haru stared at him for a moment, he couldn't speak but he couldn't flee. He was completely frozen.

"Your name? You know, mine's Rin. You are?" The boy explained. The boy seemed friendly enough, and Haru _really_ wanted to swim with him…maybe the younger humans weren't so dangerous.

"I'm…Haru."

"Well it's nice to meet you Haru! I've never seen you around here. I live real close and swim out here a lot. I'm going to be a professional swimmer one day so I practice a lot." Haru narrowed his eyes in confusion at the term. Professional swimmer…like a job? Humans swam as a job? To Haru that seemed like professional _breathing_. Couldn't he just swim all of the time? He was really fast though, at least he was faster than Makoto or Nagisa.

"Wanna race?" Haru asked, excited to see the flicker in Rin's eyes at the question.

"Totally!" Rin pointed out at the one cliff and then to the other that were a good distance apart. "Let's race from that cliff to the other and back. Just so you know I'm not gonna go easy on you Haru." Haru laughed at that.

"Good."

And the two boys raced each other back and forth and back and forth again when they tied and then once more because Rin said it only counted for "Best 2 out of 3" but when they both had the same amount of wins they _had _to break the tie. They were both left panting and a little sore from swimming back and forth so many times and winnerless. Haru had finally met his match. He made sure to keep a good distance from Rin though, who hadn't noticed his tail in the water. Haru told himself that if he could have flipped his tail up a little more when he swam then he definitely would have won.

"You're pretty fast Haru." Rin laughed, bearing those pointy shark teeth. "And how can you hold your breath for such a long time? Man I didn't think you were gonna come back up." Haru blinked in confusion. Could humans not breathe underwater? He guessed that made sense but he didn't want Rin to get suspicious so he just shrugged.

"You're fast too. None of my friends are that fast." Haru noticed the beginnings of orange tinting the sky and looked out nervously towards the ocean. "I…I have to go though. It's getting kind of late."

Rin looked disappointed.

"Really? Will you come back tomorrow? This was really fun, even though you are kind of weird." Haru smiled a little and glanced nervously at the ocean.

"Only if you keep it a secret. Don't tell anyone that I was here, deal?" Rin looked a little confused but smiled anyway and held his thumbs up.

"Deal! See you tomorrow Haru!"

Rin turned around to swim back to the shore, but when he turned back to look for Haru, he was gone.

~o~

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_Aaaa I'm really excited to write this guys, it's so different from my other stories and I'm so ready. _

_Right now it's looking like it's going to have at least 10 chapters, let me know what you guys think so far or if there's anything you'd really like to see in this definitely let me know ;D_

_Thank you for reading! See you next time,_

_-Chayin_


	2. Chapter 2

_So it turns out I'm writing this story really quickly and will be updating weekly without any conflicts (Maybe even bi-weekly)  
Yay for that, and enjoy this chapter!_

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_~o~_

**_Chapter 2:_**

The sun had settled beyond the horizon, tucking the world in with the dark blanket of night by the time Haru made it back to his home. It was no surprise that Sasabe-san met him with crossed arms and flicking red tail when he made it back.

Sasabe had been the child caretaker of the kingdom for a few years now, he'd been responsible for each of the children and would be until they were old enough to take care of themselves. Of the "elder" merfolk who cared for the children, Sasabe Goro was the most sympathetic towards Haru. He knew his situation well and Haru _may_ have learned to take advantage of that.

"Haru we had an agreement." Haru hung his head while the other young merchildren watched in anticipation of his scolding.

"I'm sorry." The elder merman sighed and tugged at his hair in aggravation.

"Sorry's not good enough, Haru. You know how dangerous it is out there! Especially for…especially for someone like you." Haru felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment. _Someone like him. _Right. The merman shushed away the other children and took Haru's hand, leading him to sit on a small rock that was tucked away from the cove full of children. Haru was old enough to know that this meant he was in for an earful.

"Haru it's not that you're not old enough or fast enough to go off like that but there's just more danger in it for a young prince. We can't even imagine what the humans could get away with if they ever caught you- let alone any of us. You're the only heir to the throne." Haru felt angry tears brim his eyes.

"But I don't want to be! I just…I just want to be free. Why do I have to be a prince?" The young boy scrubbed at his eyes with a little fist. Sasabe exhaled deeply and gave Haru a look that made his stomach churn. _Pity._

"I know you don't want to be. I know that it's hard, but this is your birthright. You will eventually grow to appreciate it, just like your father-"

"No!"

"Haru…"

"No! I just want to swim free, I don't want to be a king. I don't want to take the throne! Why can't I just be free?" Haru bawled like…well, like a child. Because that's what he was. A child with the weight of his kingdom on his shoulders who was being crushed under the weight.

"I'm sorry Haru, but there's nothing to be done. That still doesn't make it okay to go off for so long, especially at _night_! What if the tide carried you too close to shore? What if one of the night hunters like a shark found you…gods your father would have my head." Haru felt a sudden sting of guilt, knowing that he already went too close to shore and met a shark-like friend of his own.

"I won't do it again. I'll be back on time I promise." The blonde caretaker looked into the teary young royalty's eyes with a frown.

"I can't let you go off again, there's too much risk Haru." Haru felt his heart stop, everything felt cold.

"No…please." Sasabe glanced away, unable to watch the child's heart break. "No! Sasabe-san don't! Please, I promise to come back on time! I won't go too far, I promise, please!" Haru was screaming now and his tears were flowing freely. "I need to swim…I can't be free! Please!"

Sasabe was guilt ridden and torn between the safe thing to do and the kind thing to do. He didn't have the heart to take away the one thing from the young prince that made him happy, that was just too cruel. He reached out and tried to shake Haru from his tantrum.

"Haru, Haru alright! Alright I'll let you swim out again!" Haru stopped thrashing and rubbed his teary eyes with his scraped forearm. As the tears settled on the skin he watched the wound heal quickly; at least the healing properties of his tears was a plus. The little prince sniffled and rubbed his tears some more.

"Really?" Sasabe groaned and nodded, knowing that he would probably come to regret this decision.

"Yes, BUT- there are new conditions. If you ever come back after dark again you are banned from swimming out anymore." Haru nodded in agreement, his face lighting up in excitement. "And I know you like to swim with the dolphins and they like to race at the surface, but no more surface. It's been too busy this summer with the boats and humans. I need you to promise me, you will not go to the surface." Haru groaned.

"But Sasabe-san!" Sasabe looked into the little blue eyes with a new, stronger resolution.

"Promise me or you're not allowed to go at all." Haru rolled his eyes and huffed.

"I promise I won't go to the surface."

~o~

* * *

"I'm going to the surface." Haru stated matter-of-factly to his closest and most trustworthy friend. Green eyes widened in horror.

"Whaaaat?! Haru you know how dangerous it is! You can't!" All of the children had gone home by this point and Haru had gotten permission to have Makoto sleep over so he could confide in his friend in the safety of his own room.

"Yes I can." Haru protested as Makoto grabbed his shoulders, looking him square in the eye.

"Haru, don't! I don't want you to get hurt!" Haru smiled a little.

"That's why I wanted you to come with me." Makoto looked as though his heart had completely given out, his face pale and his tail losing the strength to carry him. Makoto sank to the sandy floor of Haru's room.

"Absolutely not." Makoto insisted, but Haru pulled him off the floor and onto his thick bed of seaweed.

"You know, I already went to the surface today." Makoto was flustered, he had no idea what to do.

"Why Haru? Is that why you were late? What happened?" Haru bit his lip and looked away, this was going to be the hard part to explain.

"I…I made a friend." Makoto's mouth was agape.

"Another clan of mermaids in the area?" Haru shook his head.

"Not…quite."

"A dolphin?" Haru shook his head again and Makoto's eyes widened in horror of the realization. "No…" Haru looked down and nodded very slightly. "No! You didn't! How could you? A HUMAN?!" Haru put his hands up to his friend's mouth.

"Shh! Not so loud! It's okay though he was really nice! And he seemed like he was our age!"

"Haru you could have DIED!" Haru rolled his eyes and flopped back on the bed.

"No I wouldn't have! He was nice, we're going to go swimming again tomorrow, he's really fast. I wanted you to meet him too…"

"You're crazy! You're trying to get us all killed!" Haru looked up at Makoto angrily.

"Will you stop? They're not all dangerous!" Makoto narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Try telling that to the merfolk who have lost their families to humans. They're ALL dangerous! If just one person finds out then they'll all find out and come to find us. It's happened before, it will happen again." Haru crossed his arms indignantly.

"He's nice. I'm not in danger." Makoto flopped back on the bed next to him, his light green tail flicking back and forth in the water, causing little ripples in the otherwise still water.

"I wish you weren't so stubborn." Haru chuckled.

"You know humans can swim _as a job_? Like…they grow up to become real swimmers! How weird is that?"

"That's pretty stupid, and they get paid to do it? I could do that!" They both laughed at the

absurd thought of humans growing up to do something they've done their whole life.

"You know, if you just like swimming with your human because he's fast I'll get faster. I'll train to be better so you're happy swimming with me instead."

Haru looked over at his friend, whose green eyes sparkled with a hint of rejection.

"I wanted you to come swim _with_ us." Makoto quickly shook his head.

"I can't…" Haru sighed and swirled his shimmering blue tail around in the water.

"It…it makes me feel free Mako." Makoto silently looked over at the friend he'd had since birth.

"He makes you feel free? Your human?" Haru laughed a little at the thought of Rin being "his human."

"Yeah. I think so." Makoto sighed and stretched his arms up along the fluffy bed of seaweed and tangled his fingers in the sprouts.

"I guess I can't stop you then."

Haru smiled and remembered the flash of sharp teeth he couldn't wait to see tomorrow.

"I guess not."

~o~

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_Hope you enjoyed this week's chapter! As you might be able to tell, I've put a bit of a spin on the whole "Haru feeling free in the water" thing and made it more of "Haru feeling free when not being a prince/when he's with Rin" Which will become more heavily apparent in upcoming chapters. _

_Thank you for reading and let me know what you think so far! Updates soon ;D_

_-Chayin~_


	3. Chapter 3

_Update: Hey! I feel pretty comfortable saying that I'll be updating every Tuesday from now on, so I'm happy to announce that!_

_I'm going to be adding a couple of characters here and there but the story will definitely be primarily Rin/Haru. Other than Makoto everyone else is going to be practically a cameo so...just a head's up :)_

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_~o~_

**Chapter 3:**

Haru made sure to leave early the next day so that he would have lots of time to play with Rin. He swam as fast and hard as he could to the shoreline where he'd found the redhead the day prior.

He was beginning to really like the surface. The warm summer breeze against his skin was a new and pleasant feeling for him. He learned that if he kept his head above the water long enough his hair would dry and become soft and light; he kind of liked that too. Rin hadn't shown up yet, but Haru wasn't surprised because he had come really early.

Haru liked to watch the ocean birds fly around on the beach and chase the water. He'd known of a few flying fish and had only seen them in the water but there was something special about the way a bird flew so freely. He liked the thought of not resisting the air, allowing it to carry him like the water did but so far as he knew only birds flew in the sky; just as only fish and merfolk lived in the ocean. Haru had barely noticed when the young redhead came jogging to the beach until he was waving his arms and calling out to him.

Legs are pretty fast, he noted. Rin's legs were skinny and kind of too long for his body, or so Haru thought at least. It was so strange how they moved and he didn't understand what Rin was wearing to cover his legs up. He hadn't been able to notice these things before, he tried to stay a distance away from Rin the day before because Rin hadn't noticed his tail. Haru almost laughed at the fact Rin believed him to be a human.

"Oi! Haru!" Rin splashed his way clumsily into the water and swam out to where Haru waded. Rin flashed his pointy smile at Haru and pushed the wet hair out of his face. "You're early today."

"Yeah, I kind of got in trouble because I got home late yesterday; so I wanted to make sure I got here early today."

"Oh yeah? Sorry that you got in trouble."

"I wanted my friend to come with me to meet you today but he was scared." Rin scrunched his eyebrows.

"He's afraid of the ocean?" Afraid of the ocean? Why would anyone be afraid of the ocean? That would be a terrible existence for a mermaid…

"Ah…not exactly." Haru laughed a little. "Just you know…scared."

"Like you were yesterday?" Rin smiled crookedly.

"Yeah actually…exactly." Haru noticed Rin was swimming a little closer to him than yesterday, it made his heart race a little quicker.

"You know if you wanted to you could come back to my house tonight, my mom wouldn't mind." Haru's tail flickered nervously.

"Ahh, sorry I can't. I'm definitely not allowed." He looked into Rin's friendly maroon eyes and lowered his voice a little. "I'm not even allowed to be here right now." Rin laughed loudly.

"Oh boy we have a rule breaker on our hands! Someone better call the not-listening-to-parents' police!" Rin held his hands up in surrender Haru couldn't resist the urge to slap his hand down.

"Hey don't make fun of me!" Rin smiled widely, the peaks of his sharp teeth peeking out from behind his chapped lips.

"I don't mind someone who breaks the rules. I think it makes you kind of cool." Haru could feel his heart thumping loudly and his cheeks began to heat up. _Ah…I'm cool._

Rin suddenly looked frightened and looked around the water nervously.

"What?" Rin splashed around haphazardly.

"Something big just brushed my leg! Let's go in." Rin grabbed Haru's hand and started to pull. Oh no. He was so careful not to touch him. He could have sworn he hadn't brushed Rin's leg! But he just came so close and he wasn't paying attention!

"Wait! Rin, wait!" Rin kept pulling.

"There's something out here!" Haru pulled his wrist away and shook his head in protest.

"No. There's not." Rin narrowed his eyes.

"Do you think I'm making this up? It was something big! I felt its fin right on my leg." Haru's face was so red with embarrassment he couldn't bear it.

"I…I have to tell you something." Rin hesitated and swam closer to Haru, who backed away a little. "I…I need you to keep it a secret though." Red eyes looked hesitant, but Rin nodded and held out his pinky. Haru was unsure of what to do, but Rin grabbed his hand and locked their pinkies together.

"I swear I won't tell anyone, pinky promise." This all meant nothing to Haru, humans and their strange oaths, but he believed he could trust Rin. He could still hear Makoto's frantic voice in the back of his head. "_All humans are dangerous!" _ But Rin wasn't, Rin was just a kid like them who liked to swim and break rules but keep pinky promises.

"That fin…wasn't a fish or anything. It was me." Rin's eyebrows scrunched together again.

"I don't get it." Haru sighed and balled up all of his courage before diving into the water and flipping his shimmering cerulean tail into the air. He felt like he should just stay under the water instead of facing Rin again. He didn't want to know what his response would be, but he came back to the surface anyway and shyly met staring red eyes and a gaping mouth rimmed with sharp teeth. Rin said nothing, he didn't _do_ anything and Haru was itching for some kind of reaction.

"…Well?" Rin slipped out of his state of shock and swam closer to Haru, barely touching him.

"Can…I touch it?" That was it? That was all he had to say? Haru didn't mind, but nobody ever really _touched_ his tail. Everyone had one of their own so it just seemed really weird to him…even a little intimate maybe. But he nodded and let the boy reach down and feel the scales of his shiny tail.

Rin's hand didn't start at his tail though, it started just below Haru's bellybutton, slowly feeling downwards to where each of his scales began and his fleshy torso ended. Goosebumps rose all over Haru's body and his tail flicked in anticipation. Nobody had ever touched him with such _purpose._

His slender fingers traced each scale, as far down as his hand would reach without him going underwater. He looked up to Haru's ocean blue eyes, his own face reddened now.

"Could…could you lay on your back? I want to see more…" Haru swallowed and nodded, floating on his back so that Rin could see all of his tail. His face didn't show any disgust or anger, but rather something Haru could only identify as_ admiration_.

"Woah…" Rin breathed, reaching out to trace the blue and slightly purple hues on Haru's tail, amazed by all of it. His fingers reached down to his tailfin and gently stroked the ribs of the fin, causing Haru to giggle and flip his tail.

"Hey, that tickles!" Rin smiled and pulled his hand away.

"Ah, sorry." Haru float upright again and smiled at Rin.

"Does this mean I get to see your legs?" Rin laughed and kicked one of his legs out of the water.

"Legs aren't anything special! You though…you're beautiful." Haru's heart fluttered like one of the birds wings, trying to float right out of his chest.

"Everyone…everyone always tells me how dangerous humans are." Haru murmured, looking back at sea. "I don't think they're right though."

"Some are." Rin said matter-of-factly. "They would want to lock you up and keep you on display because you're so beautiful." That sounded horrible to Haru. "I think…you're most beautiful when you're free though." Haru felt himself being pulled in to Rin, his arms wrapped themselves around the Human's small frame and noticed how strange his legs felt bumping into his tail. Rin wrapped his arms around Haru and rested his chin on Haru's shoulder.

"Heh, you smell just like the ocean." Haru blushed and noticed all of the strange smells on Haru- they were unlike any smells that were from the ocean. He thought for a moment that someone might notice the strange smell on him but it didn't matter. It felt _good_ to hold Rin.

"I didn't even know mermaids were _real_. I've heard about them but I've never seen one in real life." Haru let go of Rin and gestured to his friend.

"I've never seen a human before!" Rin laughed loudly, fully bearing his pointy teeth.

"That's why you thought I was a shark!" Haru sputtered.

"Shut up! You didn't even notice I had a _tail_." Rin resigned to a mild laughter.

"Alright, fair enough." He circled Haru a little, watching his every movement in the water.

"This explains a lot though. Why you can hold your breath for so long underwater, why you're so fast…everything."

"Oh believe me, not all mermaids are fast." He thought back to his friends and of how they could never keep up with him. "And humans can't stay underwater?"

"No! We need air you goofball! Mermaids don't?"

"No. Yesterday was actually my first day above the surface. Everything up here is really new…" He admitted shyly. Rin threw his hands up and laughed.

"Well, welcome to the surface!" Haru joined him laughing and the two wound up giggling and splashing each other in the calm ocean, just enjoying the freedom of being children. They spent the rest of the day swimming and laughing and just _being free_. Haru was loving every minute of it.

It was getting late though, and Haru couldn't risk being banned from swimming away so he had to say goodbye to his human friend and swim back out to sea. He knew that this time Rin was standing there, watching him as he went with the promise of tomorrow in the air.

~o~

* * *

Haru was greeted back at the cove by his group of friends, all staring at him with wide eyes. The small blond boy swam right up to Haru and circled him quickly.

"Haru-chan, Haru-chan! Is it _true_?!" Haru immediately threw a blaming glance at Makoto.

"You _TOLD HIM?_" Makoto threw his hands up in the air.

"Nagisa doesn't count! He isn't going to tell anyone!" Nagisa nodded his little blonde head quickly in agreement, his magenta tail practically wrapping around Haru.

"So it _IS _true Haru-chan_?_" He dove in close and sniffed Haru. "Is that him? Is that what they smell like?" Haru flushed with embarrassment.

"Guys will you keep it down? Please?" He buried his face in his hands as Makoto came close and started sniffing him too.

"Humans don't smell as bad as I thought they would. I always thought they would always have that bloody scent that sharks have." Makoto bluntly stated, making Haru flustered.

"Rin doesn't stink!" He yelled defensively, Makoto just sighed.

"Man you can smell him all over you though, you should have been more careful." Makoto doted; but Haru didn't _want_ to be careful. "What are you going to do?" Haru hesitated and looked around, as if he would spot an answer. Just then his stomach started to growl.

"Mackerel."

"Mackerel?" Nagisa parroted with his higher voice.

"I'm going to eat lots of mackerel. Let's go." He swam off, his friends trailing shortly behind him. When they found Sasabe-san Haru nudged his friends ahead of him.

"I need you guys to ask. I don't want him to smell Rin on me."

"He knows we don't eat the mackerel though, you're the only one that likes it." Haru's blue eyes widened and he pushed his friends more assertively.

"Don't be crazy Mako, everyone loves mackerel. It's delicious. Just go get as much as you can alright?"

Fortunately, the plan was a success; Sasabe didn't really seem to care for the two boy's sudden interest in mackerel but he grabbed a decent enough amount to help Haru hide any traces of human scent. The only downfall was that he was going to be stuck smelling like a fish, but Haru loved mackerel so it didn't bother him.

He sat with Makoto and Nagisa in a private clearing in the cove, gingerly picking at his mackerel.

"So what's he like Haru-chan?" Nagisa bubbled, more excited about Haru meeting a human than Haru himself was.

"He's nice." Haru said curtly, biting into one of the silver fish.

"Are humans big and scary like everyone says?"

"No. He's just our size. He's a kid too." Haru confirmed, Makoto still seemed very apprehensive about the whole situation.

"Can I meet him too?!" Nagisa almost boosted himself over the rock he was sitting on, he could barely contain himself. Makoto gave Nagisa a warning glare, causing the smaller boy to settle and take back his question.

Truth be told, Haru kind of preferred to keep Rin his own secret. It was nice for them to have their own secrets bonded by pinky promises just between the two of them; the rest of the world was not allowed.

"I think I'm just going to keep going by myself." Nagisa let out an audible whine before Makoto cut in.

"Does your human know about you being a merman and all yet?"

"Ah, yeah. He knows." Makoto seemed to grow more agitated.

"Does he know that you're the only heir to the throne of our kingdom and that our entire kingdom's fate is reliant on you? Does he know how dangerous it is for you to put yourself out there?" Makoto's eyes were beginning to brim with angry tears. Haru frowned and slammed his fish down on the rock he was using as a table.

"Look Makoto, maybe I like having someone who doesn't know about this stupid curse I was born with. I'm not going to _tell him_. When I'm with him there isn't any '_don't do this' 'that's too dangerous' 'but you're a prince!'_ There's just _me_, Makoto. Maybe I just want to be me." Makoto looked down dejectedly and swirled the tip of his tail in the sand.

"Why can't you be yourself _here?_" He asked quietly, already knowing the answer. Haru had told him before over and over, he just didn't understand.

"Because I'm not free here Mako…" Haru felt bad for Makoto, he really did. It wasn't Makoto's fault that he wasn't happy there. "That doesn't mean that you two aren't my best friends! I'm happy when I'm with you two, you're like family! Well, Mako _is _my cousin, but Nagisa you're like family too!" Haru smiled lightly; though it didn't come quite as easily as the smiles that came when he was with Rin.

"I'm happy with you too Haru-chan!" Nagisa shouted grabbing the young prince in a hug. "But ick you smell like fish!" Nagisa pulled away and they all laughed. Haru did notice that it was nice to just be with his friends again, but now he had something _else_ to compare it to.

Being with Rin had only made him realize what he had been missing all along.

Makoto didn't see it that way, though. He would always look back at these days and recall them as the beginning of how it all went wrong.

~o~

* * *

_Whoops was that a cliffhanger? -insert dramatic music-_

_If you haven't caught on the next chapter isn't going to be quite so fun so apology in advance!  
_

_Perhaps I was inspired by the horribly sad episode of Free! last week... Either way thank you for reading and I would absolutely love reviews so please let me know what you think so far! _

_See you next week, _

_-Chayin~_


	4. Chapter 4

_Apology in advance for this chapter..._

_I would also like to suggest checking out Sleeping At Last's song Arctic ( watch?v=c8xtGXsueXA) to listen to with this chapter.  
__It inspired a lot of this chapter considering it was on repeat while I wrote it. But that's just my goofy suggestion!  
_

_Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

~o~

**Chapter 4:**

The summer seemed to pass by quickly for the two forbidden friends. They spent nearly every single day splashing around and lounging in the ocean under the hot July rays of summer.

They learned almost everything about one another, they made up their own games and made secret promises in the little world they created together; in the world where they didn't have to pretend to be anyone else. They also got _fast_, especially Rin. Rin had finally gotten fast enough to beat Haru in their races, but only _sometimes._ They shared secrets and told stories all day, floating around blissfully in the ocean.

But summer couldn't last.

There came a day when the ocean grew too cold for Rin to join Haru, who didn't understand.

Rin sat on the beach as close as he could get without getting wet, and he was wearing more clothes than Haru had ever seen him wear before. Haru swam in as close as he could without getting beached, only his tail submerged in the water.

"I'm sorry I can't go in with you. I really want to swim but it's just too cold." Haru's eyebrows scrunched, a habit he picked up from Rin.

"I think it feels just fine." Rin reached out and touched Haru's bare arm, surprised at how warm it was to the touch. Unlike Humans, mermaid's body temperatures adjusted to the temperatures of the ocean. Haru grabbed Rin's cold hand in his own, finally understanding.

"You're so cold…Is that why you wear clothes?" Rin just nodded and slid his fingers in Haru's. Haru realized how nice it felt to hold Rin's hand, even if it was cold. Rin slid himself a little closer to the ocean and Haru moved back onto land far enough to lean against Rin's chest. He had grown a lot over the summer, if they could stand Haru knew that he would surely tower over him. Perhaps humans did grow to be as big as merfolk said, or perhaps Rin just grew faster than himself. Either way Haru didn't mind, it made it easy for him to sit with him like this.

"Haru…do you remember how I told you about how humans go to school when the summer's over?" Haru just nodded and watched the seagulls fly above the ocean and swoop down to the surface. Rin's arm wrapped gently around Haru's waist and his chin rested on Haru's shoulder. "School starts soon." Haru smiled when Rin's dark red hair tickled his cheek. It felt really nice when it was dry.

"Does it?" He felt Rin sigh deeply against him.

"Yeah…" Haru glanced around at him and took the arm from around his waist to look his friend in the face.

"What's wrong?" He was worried, he didn't know what school meant but it didn't seem like Rin liked it; and if Rin didn't like it neither did Haru.

"I should have told you this…but we were always having so much fun I didn't want to ruin it." Rin clutched his cold hand into a fist. "I'm…I'm leaving soon. For school."

"So…we have to change which beach we meet at? Will there be other people?" Rin shook his head.

"No Haru. There won't be any beach for us. I'm going far away to train for swimming. I was accepted into a really big swimming school in Australia." Haru felt fear swell up around him and leak from his eyes.

"What do you mean there won't be a beach? Why can't I see you?" A few tears dripped from Rin's eyes too.

"It's too far Haru! It's on another part of the world."

"No!" Rin wrapped his arms around Haru tightly, not caring if he got wet or not anymore.

"I'm sorry, Haru." Haru just tried his best not to sob and let out a few pathetic 'no's into Rin's hood of his sweatshirt. Rin held him by the back of his head and allowed his best friend to take in the news. "This might be the last time I get to see you." He whispered, feeling Haru's grip tighten. Haru felt as if his whole world was collapsing in on him. He was caught in a strong undercurrent and the ocean was sucking him deeper and deeper until he choked and struggled and the ocean filled his body and could only escape through his eyes. He couldn't stop crying.

"_Why_?"

"It's my chance. It's my only chance to become a professional athlete. I need it, Haru." Haru just whimpered and buried his face in Rin's shoulder, letting it soak up his tears.

They held each other for a long time, crying and dealing with grief as best as two ten year olds were capable. Eventually Haru fell asleep in Rin's arms, still clinging onto his hand. Rin couldn't sleep though, he wanted to remember every bit of Haru that he could before he left.

When Haru woke up he started to cry again, with less intensity as before but silent tears still leaked from his deep blue eyes. Rin reached up and wiped the tears away from his cheeks.

"Hey Haru…there's something I've always wanted to try with you. Can I…?" Haru sniffled and nodded, watching Rin's face come closer, their noses bumped awkwardly and Rin kissed Haru lightly on the lips. It was an innocent kiss, it didn't last very long but it _felt_ like it did. Haru's tears stopped and he blinked his eyes in surprise, he could still taste Rin on his lips.

"Do mermaids kiss?" Haru nodded again, he was speechless; even if he tried to speak he knew his voice would betray him and crack with sadness and he would cry again. Rin leaned in again and kissed his forehead this time, holding Haru's hand tightly.

"I don't want to leave you." Haru pursed his lips together tightly, trying hard not to cry; but failing. The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, but Haru was still in Rin's arms on the beach. He'd never seen the sun set before, but he'd always heard about how beautiful it was. He was glad he at least got to see it with Rin.

"Rin…Where do you think the sun goes when it sets?" Rin nestled close to Haru again and rested his head on his shoulder.

"I don't know…but wherever that is, that's where I want to be. Just stay with the sunset so that the day never ends." Haru liked the sound of that. If they followed the sunset maybe the day would never end and Rin would never have to leave.

"Yeah. Me too."

~o~

* * *

_Perhaps this chapter was inspired by how much of a crybaby Rin's been in the episodes lately; who knows!_

_Sorry for such a sad way to leave off the chapter but things will get...different. Not necessarily better but...different!_

_I'd love to hear your feedback on the chapter and am excited to post more!_

_-Chayin~_


	5. Chapter 5

_Happy Tuesday! (Or whatever day of the week you're reading this on)_

_By things being "different" before, I was talking about how Haru is no longer a child in the story as of this chapter._

_Also there is a lot of dialogue that was directly inspired by one of the more recent episodes of Eternal Summer, so that might seem a little bit like déjà vu..._

_Enjoy~_

* * *

~o~

**Chapter 5:**

Years passed slowly for Haru after Rin left him. He always felt as though a large part of him were missing after that day. He found himself turning away from much social contact, other than that from Makoto and Nagisa, and distanced himself from everyone. It was as if an entire part of his personality just shut down. He was forbidden from swimming away anymore because he had come home so late _that night_, but he didn't care. He didn't even fight it. There was nothing left for him out there anyway.

There were no more races or gentle kisses or pinky promises for Haru, only lessons on being princely and strict rules that were enforced on him. There was no more freedom.

He forgot the feeling of warm sunlight on his skin, he could only faintly remember the image of flocking birds in the sky and what their small bodies looked like soaring above him. He remembered as much as he could about Rin though. The feeling of his soft red hair between his fingers, his smiles rimmed with intimidatingly sharp teeth, the bouncy lightness of his laugh and most importantly the taste of his tear soaked lips on the day they said goodbye.

He learned to put up a thick wall around his heart to protect himself. He could no longer laugh freely with his friends or play with the frivolousness he'd known as a child. Warm smiles were replaced with indifferent glances and friendly hugs were replaced with cold shrugs. Sadder than that though, is that no one really noticed this change in Haru. Of course Makoto and Nagisa had, but all others just accepted the behavior as no different.

Because of this he wound up spending a majority of his adolescence alone or in mandatory royal meetings. Even years later Haru's dreams were haunted by Rin, his voice, his smell, everything was still the same. Haru would always dream that he would come back and be waiting for him at the beach, just like he used to, but that was only in his dreams. His reality had become bleak and lonely.

One night Haru had such a vivid dream about Rin he was half tempted to swim back to the beach just to make sure it wasn't real, but now that he was older he was given too many responsibilities. Someone would too easily notice if he were to go missing.

Makoto would occasionally bring up "his human" on days when Haru was especially moody, usually making some biting remark about him. Makoto was very bitter at Rin for breaking Haru's heart, he held more hostility towards Rin than Haru did, and he wasn't even the one who was hurting. Haru did have to give Makoto credit for one thing though, being with a human _was_ dangerous after all; just not in the way either of them had expected.

Nobody really seemed to understand how Haru felt. Makoto pretended that he understood, but Haru couldn't expect him to really understand what it felt like to have loved and lost at such a young age. Merfolk were different than most human in the fact that their hearts, once broken, could potentially never heal. That's why they mated for life. Their hearts were too fragile to deal with the loss of their most cherished loved one.

And none of the mermaid tears in the world were strong enough to mend a broken mermaid heart.

* * *

~o~

Haru's disinterest in other merfolk never proved to be much of an inconvenience as he grew older; that is until he came to be of age to start looking for a mate.

Mermaids typically mated for life and usually found these mates at prime of their young adult lives, which was about 19 years old for a mermaid; Haru's age. Everyone in the kingdom seemed to start pushing prospective mates at him, there were always mermaids everywhere; but Haru wanted _nothing_ to do with it.

They were not Rin, therefore he was not interested. Mermen were typically permitted to mate with male mermen if they chose to do so, but for royalty that was very frowned upon; keeping the bloodline alive and such…

Makoto would occasionally gently push the subject on Haru, only to be met with disinterest and empty glares.

Nagisa had already found a mate, he was one of the mermen that worked at the treasury and wore thick glasses, Rei was his name. Haru didn't care too much for him though, he was kind of rude and obnoxious. Haru didn't really like anyone who talked too much- which Rei did a lot of.

And even though Makoto had no mate of his own he seemed to show a lot of interest in assuring that Haru found one.

"You know, Haru, the older we get the harder it will be for you to find a mate."

Makoto swam alongside his cousin through the kingdom that night, heading back to the palace.

"So?"

"Sooo you should choose one now that you actually _like_ before there are none left!" Haru gave Makoto a half-hearted glare and shrugged.

"I don't like any of them." Makoto groaned and pulled at his brownish green hair.

"You're telling me that out of an _entire kingdom_ full of mermaids who would give anything to be your mate you don't want _any of them_?" Haru swam steadily and didn't bother to look at Makoto.

"Nope."

"Does this have anything to do with _your human_?" Haru clenched his jaw and swam a bit ahead.

Things never quite turned out nicely when Makoto brought up Rin. It was always a sensitive topic for Haru, who would usually remain cool headed and indifferent, until Rin was brought into the situation.

"So what if it does?"

"So what if it…? Ugh! Haru it's been _nine years_! Why don't you just give it up already, he's not coming back and you know it!"

"It has nothing to do with you."

"Like hell it doesn't! You're letting this get in the way of your entire life! You know you have a responsibility to find a mate to take over the throne!" Blue eyes looked into Makoto's with a venom that he had never seen before.

"And why would I care about that?" He laughed bitterly. "So I can live on a pedestal for everyone to see? So I can have a 'perfect life' and set an example for everyone in the kingdom? So I can stay _trapped in this hole and abide by everyone else's rules for the rest of my life_?"

"That's not why! You know this has always been your life! You knew this long before _that human_ came into your life! You're grown up now and it's time for you to grow up and take this more seriously! That human isn't coming back and you have a kingdom that needs you! This is your future, stop pretending that you don't understand!"

"_WHAT FUTURE?!"_ Haru screamed. "_You _don't understand! Any future here isn't _mine_! It was chosen for me! None of that is what I want! I'm not you! I can't just accept that my life is already paved out for me and I am just expected to follow it! This _isn't my future_!"

"So what? You're just going to spend the rest of your life wallowing over the scum that broke your heart nine years ago?"

"Shut up, Makoto." Makoto grabbed his arm to stop him, only to be met with a very angry glare pointed straight at him.

"No! I'm sick and tired of this! I'm sick of watching you mope around and waste _half of your life_ crying over this guy!" Haru tugged his wrist away and clenched his fists.

"Will you ever stop being so _jealous?_ I know you're just jealous because you weren't good enough. You're just upset that you couldn't make me happy like he did!" He knew that would hurt Makoto deep enough to make him stop, it usually did the trick. But Makoto stared straight back with angry tears brimming his eyes.

"He didn't even deserve you! He was an asshole for leaving and you just refuse to see it!" Makoto just went too far this time, Haru was seeing red. He wasn't even able to stop his fist as it reached up and collided with Makoto's cheek.

The brunette recoiled and gave Haru a look of such betrayal as he cradled his face.

"You know what, go ahead! Go to the shore and see if he's there waiting! See if he's there for you, just like he _never has been!_ I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want." Makoto swam away quickly, not even glancing back in Haru's direction.

Haru couldn't remember ever getting so _angry_ before, he didn't know what to do or how to calm down so he did what felt most natural to him.

He swam.

The water cut easily against his hands, it was like he was slicing his way through the water, propelling himself faster and faster. Heart pounding, muscles straining he pushed himself to move as quickly as possible. He swam so hard that it only took minutes for him to reach the surface of the water, his heart was hammering and only then did he realize the storm brewing above the surface. The waves were pretty rough and rain was coming down pretty heavily. Haru had only experienced light rain over his summer with Rin, but this was something totally different.

Anger was still pumping through his body, making his heart race and his head hurt, he didn't know what to do anymore so he just yelled. He yelled and screamed until his voice broke, and then he yelled some more. After nine years of being silent Haru just looked up at the storming sky and yelled, he must have yelled so loud that he swore he heard an echo come back. He yelled to see if it would happen again, and surely he heard a faint yell from a distance.

Only…when Haru was silent he heard it again. And again. It sounded panicked, frightened even. Haru quickly forgot his anger and swam quickly towards the source of the sound, it was faint and far but certainly there; A muffled "Help!" in the distance. He swam as fast as his body would take him, the sound growing louder and clearer but then…stopping completely. Haru knew he was getting close, but there was no longer any sound to guide him.

But then he smelled it. The vaguely familiar scent he'd known years ago, it was nearby. He dove under the water to swim faster, the rough waves making it difficult to swim and in the dark of the water he saw a vague red blur. A _human_ blur.

He dove deep to keep the body from sinking any deeper, his mind going on autopilot screaming _Humans need air! Humans need air! _

When he broke the surface with the human he felt desperately for breathing, waiting for something, anything, but there was nothing. Haru's mind was reeling, it all felt like a terrible nightmare. The rain was pounding down on him and he was struggling to stay afloat. The man was big and too heavy for Haru to carry above water, he needed to find land quick.

With the man cradled close to his body Haru swam as quickly as he could to the closest land he knew of; a small grotto that the sea fed into. The water was shallow as he went deeper into the grotto and there was land for him to put the human on. The pale moonlight reflecting off of the ocean water gently illuminated the quiet grotto where the waves rolled against the cave floor. When he finally was able to see the human's face his hopes and fears were confirmed all at once.

_Rin._

~o~

* * *

_WHOOPS Was that a cliffhanger? Am I too cruel? Perhaps, but I wanted to split the chapters to make sure that I could make the next one super extra long so just wait and see!_

_As always, I adore hearing what you have to say and am grateful to have such frequent readers/reviewers for this fic!  
_

_Until next week, _

_Chayin~_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hey guys, sorry this is a little late- it's still Tuesdayish though..._

_Anyway I don't want to give anything away but uh... *coughs and points up to the M rating above*_

* * *

~o~

**Chapter 6:**

Haru pressed his ear to Rin's chest, relieved to hear a heartbeat, although very faint. Haru was terrified, he didn't know what to do, Rin had _finally_ come back and now Haru couldn't save him. Desperate tears leaked from his eyes and splashed down onto Rin's chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I don't know what to do! Please…please." Haru clutched Rin's cold hand in his own tightly, pulling it up to his lips and kissing it gently. More tears splashed down onto Rin as Haru cried, large pearls splashing down onto the broad, tanned chest. It was as if his worst nightmare had come true. Surely Rin would have needed air by now, he could never hold his breath this long before; and Haru just clutched to his cold wet body desperately choking back tears with no way to help. He didn't know the first thing about breathing! He didn't even know what happened, he just knew that Rin _wasn't_ breathing. Eventually panic took over and he began shaking Rin, shaking him roughly and crying, "Please, Rin! Please wake up! You need to wake up! You…you can't die. I just got you back…" He sobbed and shook Rin as hard as he could before holding up Rin's limp body and cradling it against his own in a tight hug, his face pressed tightly against his neck, feeling the slow and faint heartbeat.

But then… Rin shook. Haru was startled so he laid him back down, still clutching the cold hand tightly. First he shook, and then he coughed, and coughed and soon he sat up and coughed out water, red eyes open and chest heaving. He took a few gasping breaths and heaved for air between coughs. When Rin was finally breathing Haru threw his arms around him tightly.

"Rin!" Rin pulled away and stared at Haru with wide eyes, his hands reaching to cup Haru's face, rubbing his cheeks gently as if to make sure he was really there.

"Haru…you saved my life." Haru smeared the tears on his face, he didn't want Rin to see him like this, not now. He just clung to Rin's broad shoulders and buried his face in his neck.

"What happened? You were such a good swimmer, I didn't think that…" He realized how Makoto-like what he was about to say sounded and his voice died off.

"Honestly?" Rin laughed a little, the sound gave Haru goosebumps; he never thought he'd hear that sound again. "I must not have noticed the rip current and it pulled me out too far. The waves were just too rough for me…and I was looking for you." Haru stared into his dark red eyes in confusion, his brow slightly scrunched, which made Rin smile his pointy smile.

"But I thought…Australia…" Rin still coughed a little, sliding his arm around Haru's waist; just like he did the last time they saw each other.

"Ah, well I finished school. I couldn't stand it there, I had to come back." A little crooked smile formed on his lips and he rested his head against Haru's. "I had to see you." Haru's fingers tightened around muscular arms, _so strong_. He felt a shudder of fear that he would lose Rin again, that this would just slip through his fingers and he would be alone again, so he clung to Rin tightly.

"Will you stay?" Haru breathed, scared of the answer that would eventually take Rin away.

"Yeah, I'm staying." Haru squeezed back the rising lump in his throat and nestled his nose in Rin's wet, burgundy hair. He smelled almost exactly the same, he smelled stronger and a little older but his smell was still so uniquely _Rin_. "God Haru, I missed you so much." He stroked Haru's hair soothingly when he felt a small sob shake him, his hand was so much bigger…

"Hey, don't cry. I'm here, you don't need to be sad." Haru pulled away from him rubbing his tears and laughing. Rin felt his chest tighten at the sound of the mermaid's laughter.

"I'm crying because I'm happy! I'm…I'm so happy!" Pointy teeth flashed at Haru in a smile and Rin pressed his forehead against the brunette's.

"Good. So am I." Salty lips met Haru's own with more heat than Haru had known capable in a kiss. The sensations overwhelmed Haru, as his eyes slipped closed he only thought of the birds he used to watch with Rin, so light and _free_. He imagined that's what this kiss felt like. Rin slipped his fingertips to where Haru's tail began, fingering gently at the scales that started there, his tongue lightly teasing at Haru's lips.

"You've gotten so beautiful." Haru felt his face heat up and wondered if Rin would notice just how much faster his heart was beating.

"I'm not a girl." One of Rin's hands slid up to Haru's cheek and caressed it lightly before kissing him again, only more tenderly.

"So? You're still beautiful." He kissed the merman even deeper, tongue slipping into the warm salty mouth, careful not to catch him with one of his teeth. Haru accidentally let a little moan slip from his throat and his tail splashed lazily in the shallow water, creating little ripples to surround him. In no time Haru found himself on his back with Rin spread over him, their fingers and lips intertwined while Haru's tail made excited splashes in the water.

"Heh…you're getting me wet." Rin chuckled sliding his hands down to stroke his scales. Rin's hands explored Haru's tail eagerly, seeing which spots made Haru squirm and try not to splash water around. "It's okay, _you can make me wet_." Rin teased in a sultry voice, delivering a quick kiss to his hip. It wasn't until Rin reached a small opening concealed by the scales that Haru _really_ flipped his tail. Haru instinctually reached down and tried to pull Rin's hand away. Maroon eyes flickered with desire as they met Haru's and a crooked smile crept across his face.

"Is this…?" Rin kneaded a palm against the scales there, causing Haru to squirm and splash him.

"Aah! No…don't…" Haru halfheartedly pleaded, knowing full well that he didn't _really_ want Rin to stop. He was surprised to feel Rin's lips against his own, gently reassuring him.

"It's alright. You can feel mine too." Rin took Haru's thin hand in his own and led it to the warm girth beneath his swimsuit. Haru's heart was pounding so fast he thought he was going to die, just burst open and float away.

Haru was snapped back to reality when Rin rolled his hips into Haru's palm, nipping at his neck. When Rin's bold hand wrapped around his own throbbing erection Haru cried out, arching off the ground, his tail flipping desperately in the shallow water. Haru pulled down Rin's swimsuit, exposing the concealed member and wrapping his own hand around it.

The merman timidly started mimicking Rin's movements, squeezing lightly as he pumped the man atop him. He was pleasantly surprised when a low moan rumbled from Rin's throat, encouraging Haru to pump him faster. Rin's slick hand stroked Haru skillfully, his free one tangled in Haru's hair as their tongues battled passionately, gasps and moans exchanged freely between each other's lips.

The two stayed tangled against each other on the bank of their own private grotto, the sounds of their passionate encounter echoing off of the cave walls. Every gasp, cry and splash of Haru's tail was intensified in the silence of the rocky enclosure.

Haru was reaching his peak, one hand on Rin, pumping him quickly, the other clawing at the larger man's back. His moans were becoming airy and desperate as he got closer and closer, his hips jerking wildly against the man's hand now.

"Hah…mmnh Rin…I can't anymore…_please!_" He didn't even know what he was begging for, but he wasn't questioned. Rin caressed his face with his free hand and placed loving kisses on his face.

"Just let it wash over you." Rin whispered soothingly. Haru cried out a choked "Rin!" again, his tail reaching up and wrapping around Rin's leg as he arched and reached his climax, his sticky seed dripping onto his stomach. Rin came shortly after with a soft grunt, as he nuzzled his face into Haru's neck.

"Your tail…" Rin breathed, Haru could feel his smile against his skin. "It's still wrapped around me." The tail quickly unwound itself from Rin's leg and splashed back into the water.

"Aah sorry." Rin rubbed his leg along Haru's tail in a slow teasing motion and traced his foot lazily along the scales.

"Don't be sorry, it felt nice." Rin's hand wandered down his body again, gently smoothing over the scales at Haru's hip as they both came down from their climax together. Slowly Rin untangled himself from Haru's arms and knelt down next to the water, scooping it up in his hands. He carefully brought it back over to the merman and poured it slowly over his stomach, rubbing away as much of their seed as he could. Haru closed his eyes and sighed contentedly as Rin carefully smoothed over his scales and skin, the action coming across as very loving and even..._intimate_. The redhead slowly started placing tender kisses against the salty skin, his hands rubbing soothingly against his hips, where he noticed something unusual.

What Rin found among the scales though was a large missing patch where a big scale had obviously been, he looked in horror to see the shimmering blue scale on the ground beside Haru.

"Oh my god did I do that? Are you okay?" Haru propped himself up and picked up the scale from the ground, his face reddening.

"I'm okay. It's…normal for merfolk." Rin climbed to the side and allowed Haru to sit up, although still obviously worried. Haru ran his fingers against the smooth patch of flesh that was once covered by the large scale. "I didn't think it would happen with a human, honestly." He said softly as he examined the scale in his hand.

"What would happen?" Haru rubbed the back of his head, the same way Makoto would when he had to talk about something awkward.

"Well, when Merfolk mate, they mate for life. We are physically _designed_ to mate for life. So when we do find a mate the big scale that's here, we call it a_Promissory_ _Scale_, falls off and the two mates trade scales. They slip right into place there, but you can't put your own back in place. It's…kind of embarrassing isn't it?" Haru smiled shyly and looked up into tender maroon eyes.

"Not at all. That's very romantic." Haru blushed and looked down at the bare patch.

"You think so?" He held out the scale and placed it gently in Rin's hand. It was as large as his palm. "Here." Rin held his hand with the scale in it, like there was a very precious gift being handed to him; well, actually it was.

"But I have nothing to give you in its place."

"That's alright." He leaned in and pressed his forehead against Rin's. "You came back. That's enough for me."

The blue tail splashed gently against the water as Rin showered Haru with tender kisses and held him close, basking in the afterglow. Haru finally felt secure again, he was finally free to be himself; after _nine years_. It felt tremendous.

They lay silently against one another and watched as the sun came up, peeking through the entrance to the grotto and washing the cave with the light of a new day.

"Haru, what will people say when they see your scale is missing with none in return?" Haru nestled his face against Rin's chest.

"I don't care." He didn't even want to go back to that place for all that mattered at that moment. He was with Rin again and he was free. That's all that mattered.

"No, really Haru. Won't it be taboo for you to _not_ have your mate's scale since you mate for life and everything?" Haru grumbled in response and danced his fingers across Rin's handsome face. He traced the bridge of his nose, and stroked long brushes against his cheeks and pulled playfully at Rin's lips, barely exposing his shark-like teeth.

"That's it." Haru pulled his hand away. "That's what you can do." Rin sat up with him in surprise.

"What?"

"Bite me." Rin recoiled and looked at him through narrow eyes.

"No! What? Why would I do that?" Haru pointed to the bare patch where a scale belonged and displayed it for Rin.

"Just bite me right here and I'll tell everyone that a shark bit it off. They won't know the difference. Plus, that can be your scale for me since it will always be there."

"I don't want to hurt you." Rin protested, placing his hand atop Haru's.

"You won't, I promise." Rin scrunched his face in disapproval while Haru looked up at him with imploring blue eyes. "Please?"

The redhead sighed in defeat and slid his fingers between Haru's looking seriously into the blue pools of his eyes.

"Just…tell me if it's too painful." Haru nodded once and laid back, feeling a soft kiss on the newly exposed skin. Lips gently kissed the spot first, then teeth lightly scraped across the tender flesh, so soft that there wasn't even a mark, but enough to give Haru chills. Rin rubbed his thumb soothingly against the back of Haru's hand and began to sink his teeth into the pliant skin. Haru repressed a wince and tightened his grip on Rin's hand, causing him to hesitate a little.

"Keep going. It needs to scar." Rin gave his hand a light squeeze and tightened his hold on the flesh, a little blood beginning to drip and mix into the merman's tail. "Okay that's enough." Haru pressed through clenched teeth, Rin quickly let go and turned to the water to rinse his mouth out- even if it was with salt water.

Haru glanced down at the crescent, bleeding marks on his skin and grinned. That should be convincing enough. Rin sat back down next to Haru, placing his hand on the merman's.

"Does it hurt?" The head of silky black hair shook and Haru leaned against Rin.

"Not really." Sunlight was beginning to seep into the grotto, warming up the air and removing the cover of night time. Rin stretched his arms high above his head and let out a loud yawn, creating little echoes within the cave.

"Did you need to go to sleep?" Haru asked hesitantly, not quite ready to leave their private den.

"That sounds wonderful. Did you need to get back? Do you think anyone noticed you're missing?" Haru groaned at the thought of going back to the kingdom. Surely everyone knew he was missing, Makoto would be losing his mind and his Father would be furious. His stomach, however, protested for food. Mackerel sounded delightful at the moment.

"I'm sure they know." He looked into the water quietly, thinking about how difficult it would be to go back to the structure and control of the kingdom when he was given another taste of freedom with Rin; he knew how happy he could be as opposed to the loneliness among the merfolk. He had an entire kingdom to love him, yet ironically he was the loneliest of them all.

Haru felt Rin's arm slide around his waist and sighed.

"You really don't like it there do you?" He laughed dryly.

"How did you know?"

"You get this _look_ when you talk about it. There's just something that changes whenever it comes up…What's so bad about it? You never really told me much about your life down there, is it really that horrible?" Haru felt himself trying to put up the wall that collapsed when he was with Rin. He wanted to be curt and not think about the kingdom and treat him the way he did everyone else, but he couldn't. The wall was finally penetrated after so many years and Haru couldn't build it back up when he was this happy.

"I just have no freedom there. My life has been planned out for me since before I was even born. All I ever wanted is to just…be free."

"But it's not like you're a child anymore, you're an adult so things must be a little better. Right?" Haru laughed bitterly and swirled the tip of his tail in the cool water.

"It's actually worse. There's so much more expected of me. I've…been really lonely there."

The sting of guilt snuck up on Rin, knowing full well that his leaving caused a lot of loneliness for Haru. A tanned arm pulled Haru closed so that Rin could deliver little kisses to the crook of Haru's neck. And for the first time in a long time, Haru genuinely smiled. His face felt a little weird just from the action, it had been so long since he smiled so _freely_.

Haru stretched out his fingers, watching intently as the sunlight slipped through them and kissed his skin.

"When you left, that was the last time I came to the surface." He paused, looking at his tail in the calm pool of water. "Don't get me wrong, I love the ocean. I love it so much. But I missed it up here. The sun is nice." He felt a warm kiss placed on his cheek.

"You're nice." Haru laughed a little and splashed some water at Rin's legs.

"I don't want to leave." A warm hand cupped Haru's chin, leading his head to face Rin. Red eyes looked into deep blue ones tenderly and he placed a soft kiss on Haru's lips.

"Hey, I'll be on the beach tomorrow. There will be tomorrow, I promise." The tips of his teeth showed as the human grinned, holding up his pinky in the air; just as if things never changed. "Pinky promise." Haru leaned in to kiss Rin's lips as he wound his pinky around Rin's.

Tomorrow sounded far to Haru, but at least there was a promise of tomorrow rather than a goodbye. It was difficult for Haru to watch Rin walk away when he took him to the shore, he had to have faith in Rin's promise; which he did.

Tomorrow wasn't enough though. Haru ached for some way for there to be more than just a tomorrow; but that was what today was for. Today Haru would find some way to make his tomorrow with Rin last forever, no matter what the cost.

~o~

* * *

_I love cliffhangers now, can't you tell?_

_On another note, I wanted to wait to say this but my writing may be slowed a little bit. I'm still going to try to keep with a timeline but yesterday a member of my family died tragically and I'm still grieving pretty heavily. Please understand. _

_I'll try my best to update by Tuesday,_

_Until then- ~Chayin_


	7. Chapter 7

_Hello readers!  
__I'm finally starting to catch up with what I already had written so I hope I'll be able to stick with the weekly updates._

_(I did update on time I just put the chapter on the wrong story! ; A;)_

_But for now, they continue!  
Enjoy :)_

* * *

_~o~_

**Chapter 7:**

Things would already be difficult enough for Haru, what with his missing promissory scale and the disappearing act, without any extra attention being drawn to his return. There was no doubting that Haru tried his best to sneak into the kingdom without being noticed, well as best as a prince could go unnoticed. Which was not very unnoticed at all.

The palace guards had already been sent on patrol, the kingdom had been alerted and his friends were searching every square mile of the kingdom to find him.

Sneaking didn't really pan out as Haru anticipated. As soon as the first mermaid saw him and cried out, crowds of frenzied merfolk began to crowd him, yelling incomprehensible questions to him. Fortunately, the palace guards quickly saw to the situation, privately escorting the young prince back to the palace. A guard that Haru was familiar with, a strong red-headed merman who went by Seijurou Mikoshiba escorted him by himself once they passed the palace gates.

"Prince Nanase, your father wishes to speak with you immediately." Haru groaned and swam ahead to the palace entrance, waiting for the guards to open the door.

"And I wish to go to my room and clean myself immediately. You may tell him I said so." The redheaded guard swam quickly after Haru as he fled down the corridor to his room.

"Your highness, it was the king's order." Haru stopped at his door and looked at the guard with the cold blue look of superiority that he had mastered under the instruction of none other than his father, even though the guard with flaming red hair towered above him.

"And this is my order. You may return to my father, alert him of my presence and tell him that I will not be accepting any visitors to my room unless approved by myself. You may also tell him that this decision was mine and that I gave you no say in this order. You have fulfilled your duty as an escort." He smiled politely and opened his door. "You may leave."

The guard clenched his jaw and nodded obediently before swimming away quickly to deliver the message, as Haru retreated into the privacy of his coral enclosure. He quickly grabbed for his sea sponge and began scrubbing at his body, making sure there were no traces of his previous night's _activities_. The scar on his hip was still fresh and tender with some dried blood, which he gently rubbed clean before retiring his sponge and grabbing the small shell containing oil. At special events he would be given fine gifts from other nobles or traveling pods of merfolk, one such gift was a few small shells of coconut oil, derived from the coconuts that washed out to sea in more tropical oceans. He dabbed small traces of oil onto his skin, hoping to cover up as much of Rin's scent as he could.

Then a timid knock sounded at his door. Haru flicked his tail irritably beneath him and glared at the door, as if it had just insulted him.

"I said no visitors." There was a hesitance, and then a small voice, fragile, scared.

"Haru…" Haru placed the shell on its shelf and sighed at the sound of the voice.

"You can come in Makoto." The door cracked open slightly, and then the brunette quickly slipped into the room. Before Haru could say anything Makoto started rattling off, his voice high pitched and panicked.

"Haru, I'm so sorry about last night. What I said was uncalled for and I never should have gone there and I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It was stupid of me and I apologize and I was so worried and I didn't know what happened to you and it was all my fault and-" Haru rushed up to his distressed friend and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry." Makoto froze for a moment, shocked by the strange affectionate action of his friend, before easing into the embrace. It was nice to have Haru do something so strangely un-Haru for once.

"I was so worried, are you okay?" Haru let go and caught a glimpse of Makoto's slightly bruised and swollen cheek.

"Oh god, I'm sorry I hit you. I should have never hit you." Makoto held up a hand and shook his head.

"No, I deserved it. You weren't wrong." Green eyes glanced up nervously into blue ones and he cracked a little smile. "Truce?" Haru just nodded curtly and that settled everything. They had always handled their disagreements like that in the past, Makoto would offer a truce in the middle of their apologizing, or fighting and then it would all be over and wiped clean.

But then Makoto noticed the missing scale from Haru's tail.

"Your…your Promissory Scale! What happened Haru?!" His hands flew up to his mouth and Haru glanced down at the wound on his skin.

"Ah, a shark got me." Makoto audibly gasped and flailed his arms, Haru was just grateful that he believed it.

"A SHARK?! How did that even happen? Are you okay? What are you going to do about the…you know?" Haru fled to his large bed of sea sponges lined with seaweed.

"Please try to be quieter, I have a horrible headache." Truth. "I…don't really know how it happened." Lie. "I don't know what I'm going to do about the scale and I don't particularly care." Very true. Makoto swam over and sat next to him on the bed.

"Why were you gone so long last night, Haru?" Makoto said softly, Haru pursed his lips and rolled over, his back to Makoto.

Silence.

"Something had to have kept you out so long, why won't you tell me? We made our truce." Haru curled his tail in close and denied Makoto's question. Makoto leaned closer to shake his friend's shoulder when he caught the scent.

"What's that smell on you? It smells different…" Haru shrugged and hoped that Makoto wouldn't notice how much quicker that question made his heart race. He didn't want Makoto to know about Rin again. He knew Makoto would be furious.

"Coconut oil?" Makoto's green eyes narrowed in thought.

"No something different. It's…musky."

"Must be the shark." Haru mumbled into the seaweed, feeling Makoto come closer. "Stop!" He finally half-shouted nervously. Makoto reeled back and sat silently for a moment.

Haru felt the tension in the room immediately, he knew the face Makoto would be making and the look he would have in his eyes. He didn't want to see it.

"He's back isn't he," Makoto said quietly. Haru didn't answer, he didn't need to. Makoto clearly already knew the answer. He felt Makoto get up and begin to swim around.

"God who would have even thought that he would have the _nerve_ to just show up after he broke your hear like that! Damnit Haru, that human didn't have to see how miserable you were every day, he didn't have to sit back and watch you turn into a broken mess knowing full well that there was nothing he could do to help you. He didn't have to hold you while you cried, and cried and cried over him. And you're just willing to let him come right back and do it all over again? Well I can't handle it again, Haru. I can't. Watching you break once was hard enough." Makoto's voice sounded broken, he was fighting back tears behind his sea-glass green eyes. Haru sat up and looked into Makoto's eyes with his own teary ones.

"I love him, Mako." He hadn't called his friend that since they were children. Makoto shook and pressed his palms against his face.

"Haru, you can't do this anymore. There's too much on the line now." Haru gestured his friend over to the bed and wrapped an arm around his shoulder; he noted that it didn't feel as nice as when Rin did it to him, but he could tell that Makoto needed it.

"You know what they say about merfolk who can't be with their mates, don't you." Haru leaned in and whispered quietly, "They turn to sea foam."

"Oh, shut up! That's just a wives tale!" Haru raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Oh _is _it?"

"But he's not even your mate, Haru! He's just a human!" Haru's aquamarine eyes narrowed seriously.

"Rin _is_ my mate." He protested.

"He's a human!" Makoto cried again, Haru gestured to the missing scale on his hip and raised an eyebrow.

"My Promissory Scale begs to differ." Makoto stared at him with a mixture of appall and shock.

"With a _HUMAN_ Haru?! You mated with a HUMAN?!" Haru pushed him back on the bed.

"Will. You. Keep it DOWN? You whale-mouth!" Makoto groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Why, Haru? I just…I don't know what else to say, but why?" Haru crossed his arms indignantly and tilted his chin high.

"I already told you. It's because I love him." Makoto just groaned, but Haru knew that groan well. It was the groan of defeat. He had won. They sat silently for a moment, Makoto digesting all of the information that he had just received and _tried so hard not to think about it at the same time_. Haru just laid back happily, a little sore and tired, but happy.

"Haru, just please…don't let him hurt you like he did before." Haru rolled over and smiled at his friend. That was a sight that Makoto couldn't argue against. He hadn't seen Haru smile like that in nine years.

"He won't." Haru hesitated taking in a deep breath, as if he would need it for what he was about to say. "Mako, if anything happened…would you be okay?" Green eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean _happen_?" He asked warily.

"I mean…what if one day I wasn't here anymore? Or what if everyone started hating me and overthrew me as king?" He laughed a little, watching Makoto smile a little. It felt better to laugh.

"That day will never come." Haru insisted and pressed the question further.

"Really Makoto, it worries me. I want you to promise me that if anything ever happened regarding my rule over the kingdom that you would take responsibility. You are the second in line." Makoto's voice was hushed and he shook his head lightly.

"I can't, I'm not a prince." Haru rolled his eyes.

"You're my _cousin_. You have the royal blood, you're obviously the second closest heir to the throne. Just, humor me, okay?" Green eyes looked hesitantly into firm blue ones, practically dragging the answer he wanted out of him through his eyes.

"Alright, fine. I promise that I'll take care of the kingdom if anything happens." Haru held out his pinky, never looking more serious in his entire life.

"What are you doing now?"

"Pinky promise."

"What?"

"Pinky promise. Pinky promise me that whatever happens you'll be here to take care of everything." Makoto opened his mouth to protest but Haru's blaring blue eyes froze his tongue in his mouth. Slowly a tanned pinky came up and wrapped tightly around Haru's.

"I promise."

~o~

* * *

The rest of his day was filled with formal apologies and explanations (or rather lies) for his actions. At first the royal court, including the king and queen had a difficult time accepting the loss of their precious prince's promissory scale, but overall they were just grateful that the "shark" didn't take all of him.

It was an exhausting day to follow his exhausting night, but when nightfall came once more he knew he couldn't rest. The night had provided his cover and he was finally able to sneak away.

His decision was already made, he had already made all of the proper arrangements for his plan and all that was left was to strike a deal with the kingdoms sorceress.

She lived far on the skirts of the kingdom in a secluded cave with a small entrance lined with long, dripping strands of pearls. He brushed aside the pearls and peeked his head inside, seeing a faint glow on the walls of the cave.

"Hello?" He called, a quiet voice called back, inviting him in. He saw a vague blur of brown approach him from the depths of the cave as the delicate voice asked,

"To whom do I owe the- Oh!" She bowed when she clearly saw that it was Haru. "Prince Nanase Haruka, your highness! How may I be of service?" Haru smiled politely and extended his hand cordially.

"Madame Miho Amakata, I have a problem that I think only you may be able to help me with." The woman was very dainty and petite, her tail resembling that of a lionfish, her long quills flattened humbly in his presence.

"Of course your highness! I will surely help you to the best of my ability!" Haru gestured to the deeper parts of the cave.

"If we could, I would like to discuss this in somewhere more private. This matter truly needs to be completely confidential. I am willing to pay you handsomely for your sworn secrecy." Haru felt a little strange talking so formally, but it came as second nature to him at this age; he had been raised a gentleman- he just chose not to be. She nodded graciously and led the young prince into her home. In the main clearing of the cave there was a large brewing pot with a thick bubbling liquid inside. They sat beside each other on the sitting stones in the room and Haru folded his hands properly against his tail.

"I've heard wonderful things about your ability as a mage and sorceress, you were clearly the only person who I could confide in about this matter." He looked at her gravely and lowered his voice. "However, the assistance I'm seeking dabbles more along what we would consider _dark arts_." Her eyes widened in shock. Practice of the dark arts was strictly prohibited in their kingdom, she knew very well that she could be imprisoned just for being caught performing dark magic.

"Your highness! Is…is this some kind of test?" Haru shook his head and extended a satchel full of gold.

"It, my dear, is not. That is why I had to sneak here under the protection of night time." Brown eyes still watched him warily as he glanced down, his confident persona breaking for a moment. Desperation began to take over. "I need you to make me a human." Her gasp was expected, as well as her shock.

"I- I cannot possibly! That would be near _treason_!" Haru looked down solemnly, eventually the brunette sorceress gently asked, "Prince Nanase, why would you possibly want to be turned human?"

"I'm terribly miserable here! I have never been happy as a prince! All I've ever wanted is to be _free_, but all I've ever received are strict rules and traditions forced upon me with a weight that I cannot possibly lift. I hate it here, I'd give anything to leave." He looked up into her compassionate brown eyes and sighed. "And I'm in love with a human."

She shook her head knowingly, as if she had known the answer all along.

"Love is a hard magic to mess with. Nothing is quite as powerful." She leaned back and waved her striped tail languidly in the water. "Aaah little prince, you have gotten yourself into quite the situation."

"Please, I'll do anything! Please turn me into a human so I can be with Rin." He leaned forward and placed the heavy satchel of gold in her hand, watching her eyes glisten greedily. Mermaids couldn't resist shiny things, gold and jewels among their favorites.

"Ohh, this is going to come back and haunt me…but I know a spell." Haru's eyes lit up, he wanted to yell out in joy, but before he could celebrate she continued. "There's a catch though." Brown eyes looked into his seriously.

"What is it?"

"You will have absolutely no memory when you awake. Your memory will not _return_ until you mate with your true love." Haru smiled broadly, _that sounded easy enough_. "And you can never return. Ever. There is _no _reversal spell. You will lose all of your healing powers, you won't be able to communicate with any sea-creatures, and your lifespan…" she hesitated, pushing chestnut waves out of her face. "Let's just say that merfolk live much longer than humans. That will change as well."

"I'm willing to accept all of those conditions." Miho eyed him once more, seeing that there was clearly no doubt in his mind that this was what he wanted.

"Boy am I putting my tail on the line for you…Just…tell me where you want to be when you wake up." Haru bowed deeply and clutched his hands together.

"This is the most important thing to me in the world. There's this beach, it is straight north and it's pretty private, it ends with two cliffs on either side not too far apart. That's where Rin will find me." She reached out for his hand and led him over to a small shelf with different vials of liquid in them. She grabbed a deep purple one and handed it to the prince.

"Have you said all of your goodbyes and done everything you needed?" He clutched the vial tightly and nodded once.

"Oh, don't worry that's just a sleeping potion. You're not going to want to be awake for the whole thing. It could be pretty painful." Haru just swallowed the lump in his throat and clutched the vial close to his chest.

"Whenever you're ready your highness," Haru glanced down at the small purple vial and popped off the cork, eyeing it once more before downing it in one mouthful.

It didn't taste as horrible as he expected, it was actually rather sweet. Before Haru knew it the world around him was beginning to fade and the ground was coming closer and closer.

The last thing he remembered was the shiny maroon color of Rin's eyes as he smiled into his own lovingly. There was only one word on his lips as darkness washed over his mind. _Tomorrow_.

~o~

* * *

_YAY Cliffhanger! Okay so like I said above I'm probably going to need a little bit of a push to keep up with these weekly updates at this point. _

_I'm so excited to see how well received this story is and love reading all of your reviews! :3_

_Until next week,_

_Chayin~_


	8. Chapter 8

i_Hey! Okay so yeah, weekly updates are probably going to stop being a thing right about now (If you hadn't noticed that my update was late)  
_

_I tried to keep up with it, but the chapters are getting longer now and I have too much going on in my life to keep up with the schedule._

_I'll still try to get_ _**something** up each week, at some point in the week. _

_Sorry about that, but enjoy the somewhat tardy chapter!_

* * *

~o~

**Chapter 8:**

The sun was at its peak and the air was chilly, the two forces causing enough disruption to wake Haru from his deep sleep. At first he stretched out against the grainy sand and yawned, feeling the cold ocean water splash against his toes. _Toes._ _Huh. _

He wasn't sure why but they seemed strange to him. In fact, everything seemed strange. He didn't know where he was, or why he was there or even _what his name was_. He tried to stand up, digging his heels into the warm sand, only to have his legs wobble and give out beneath him, causing him to splash backwards into the ocean. Standing seemed to be a problem, so he tried slipping into the ocean.

It was chilly but it was around noon so the sun warmed his skin up enough for him to tolerate the cold. He kicked his legs a bit and stroked freely in the water. It felt so natural. He assumed that's why he was there, he must live here; _right?_ When he dove under the water to swim out deeper he found that he couldn't _stay _under the water. He couldn't stay under the water and he couldn't hold himself up on land so _where did he come from_?

The question proved to be too difficult for him at the moment so he settled for swimming around lazily in the water, wondering why it felt so strange to kick his legs to swim. The ocean birds were nice though, he watched as they playfully chased after the waves and flew about creating senseless chatter. While he was watching the birds he heard a voice call out, followed by a jogging young man coming straight for the beach and waving his arms above his head.

"Hey!" He called out, running across the sand and beginning to slip out of his clothing, revealing a sleek black and red bathing suit. He waved in return and smiled shyly.

"Hi,"

"You're not out very far today." He began wading into the water to come out to him, Haru touched his toes to the sandy surface below him, keeping his shoulders above the surface.

"I'm not?" The man laughed and reached an arm out. He glanced nervously at the hand and stepped back. He could see the hurt of rejection clear in the red eyes that looked at him.

"What's wrong?" The brunette could feel his cheeks heating up in embarrassment. He didn't understand why this was happening, he felt like he should know something about this man or even about himself but he was embarrassed to know _nothing_.

"I'm sorry…Do I know you?" The stranger's mouth dropped open and brows scrunched tightly.

"Haru…What do you mean you don't know me? Is this some kind of joke?" Blue eyes looked down at the calm water and he played with the word in his head a bit. _Haru._

"This isn't a joke. At least I don't think so."

"Haru this isn't funny what are you talking about." There it was again. He tried saying the word out loud a bit.

"Haru…Haru- is that my name? Is my name Haru?" The redhead stepped closer, his face still slightly pained, but mostly concerned.

"Yes. It's Haruka. What _happened_? Did you lose your memory?"

"Haruka. I like that I think." He glanced up into strange maroon eyes for a moment, wanting to remember why they looked so familiar. "And yeah…I think." The burgundy haired man groaned in distress and rubbed his temples.

"Why did-? Is this part of what happens…is this because of the other night? I just don't understand, why didn't you say anything?" His voice was starting to get loud, startling Haru. He stumbled backwards and slipped under the water, only to come up gasping for air and grabbing for the other man to hold onto. They were too deep for him to keep himself up.

"What's going on? You don't need air remember. And you're so cold…" Haru shivered and clung onto the stranger. He didn't want to slip under the water again. His leg bumped against Rin as he struggled to stay afloat. He felt large hands tighten on his arms and shocked red eyes looked into his own.

"_What did you do_?" Haru didn't want the stranger to be mad at him, he seemed to be not so much of a stranger and was the only person he met so far who knew anything about him. He felt tears well up in his eyes and he looked away.

"I don't know! I don't know anything! I just…I just woke up right over there! That's all I remember!" Suddenly the man was hugging him tightly, so tight he wasn't even sure if he could breathe; but he felt safe. The embrace felt _right _to Haru.

"God, you're freezing. I'm not used to that." The man laughed lightly, the sound made Haru shiver but he didn't know why. "Let's head in. You can come to my place." He took Haru's hand in his own and led him back to the beach where Haru fumbled to balance on his feet. He felt humiliated to have this sort of stranger here watching him struggle and trip as they came ashore, but he never laughed at Haru. He patiently held his hand and helped him balance, there was a reddish tint to his face that wasn't there before they came out of the water. He wouldn't make eye contact anymore either.

"You uh…you're gonna need to put some clothes on." He sprinted away for a moment, picking up the pile of clothes he left on the sand. "Here." He held out a pair of running pants and a hoodie for him and helped him climb awkwardly into the clothes. Maroon eyes looked gently at Haru and he laughed a little, pointy teeth flashing.

"They're a little big aren't they?" Haru looked down at his feet that were hidden by the long pants and stuffed his hands into the hoodie pocket shyly. The taller man wrapped an arm around him snugly and began walking off the beach with him. "That's alright. We'll find something that suits you better at my house."

Haru wasn't completely sure that he should just blindly follow this stranger to his home without knowing anything about him, but he didn't know anything about himself either. Plus there was just this _feeling_ Haru had that screamed out to him to trust the man.

"I still don't know your name." Haru said quietly as he stumbled along, using the taller man as support as he got used to his legs. He took in a deep breath and smiled down at Haru, his sharp teeth strangely friendly and inviting.

"It's Rin. Matsuoka Rin." Haru just nodded and continued walking, feeling his heart flutter a little bit at the name, leaning a little bit closer against Rin as they walked off the beach and down the winding streets to Rin's house.

~o~

* * *

Everything seemed so strange to Haru. The large buildings, the cars that would speed down the road, the trees, the people, animals, _everything._ He was feeling a little overwhelmed by the time they reached Rin's home. It was a humble little home, nestled tightly between two similar looking homes. Rin kept an arm firmly around Haru's waist as he stumbled up the stairs.

Haru peeked inside the warm house, dragging his wet, sandy pants along the floor.

"Ah, make yourself at home. Is there anything you need?" Haru glanced back at Rin and shook his head before walking around the first floor and peeking into the rooms. There was a decent sized kitchen and eating area, a nice living room with a big fluffy couch and a little closet sized laundry room.

"I know it's not much, but it's what I can manage on my own. The bedroom and bathroom are upstairs, would you like to see that?" Haru's stomach sank at the thought of more stairs, but Rin was already starting up them with his hand stretched out for him to follow, so he politely obliged.

In the center of the bedroom was a big fluffy futon with lots of pillows.

"How about you take a bath? I bet you don't know what it feels like to get all of the saltwater off of you." Rin pushed open the door to the bathroom. "I'll run the bath for you okay? You just need these." He held out three bottles for Haru and a small washcloth. "You've got soap for your body, and shampoo and conditioner for your hair. You can just leave the clothes on the floor, I'll wash them later." Haru nodded and took the cloth into his hand. Rin began running warm water into the tub. "I'll drain it when you're done. I've got towels here and I'll be right outside if…if you need anything." He felt a little surge of disappointment that he couldn't bathe _with_ Haru. At least not under clear conscience. Haru just nodded quietly before fumbling with the hoodie, his unsteady feet proving to be a mild inconvenience. Rin was about to leave the bathroom when he felt a slender hand grab his arm.

"Wait," Rin turned around to find Haru with one of his elbows bent and stuck in the sleeve. "I need help." Haru said shyly, Rin just laughed at the sight and took Haru's free hand in his own for balance. It was really quite adorable.

Rin gently slid the sweatshirt over Haru's head, revealing the plane of pale, smooth skin that was his chest. Haru shook his tousled hair slightly to get it out of his eyes when Rin led Haru's hands to his shoulders, leaning over slightly. _God he just wanted to kiss those soft lips. They were so close._

Instead his hands gently slid down the loose pants from Haru's hips. He tried not to look at Haru as best as he could. Rin may have still had all of his memories and feelings for Haru, but he wouldn't force them on Haru when he didn't even understand anything that was going on. So he bit back any urges he may have had to reach out and touch or kiss or possibly have wild passionate sex on his bathroom floor, yeah _especially_ that one, and settled for smoothing a hand gently through Haru's hair.

"You good now?" Haru nodded, his cheeks tinting slightly pink.

"Thank you…I'm sorry I can't do anything. I wish I could, I just don't know how…You're being too kind." Rin cupped Haru's cheek in his hand the moment he saw a glimmer of a tear in his blue eyes.

"You don't need to apologize. I understand everything. I'm just happy you're okay. That's all that matters to me." Haru looked up into the maroon eyes watching him tenderly. He didn't understand why this man was being so patient and giving with him. Maybe that's where he was supposed to be all along. Whatever it was, Rin seemed to understand, and for now that was good enough for Haru. "Now go ahead and enjoy the bath while it's still warm. I'm going to go find you some clothes that will fit better."

Rin slipped silently out of the room, closing the door for privacy, and leaving Haru with the steaming pool of water all to himself.

He dipped his leg into the warm bath to feel it, just before sinking down into the tub and letting the water engulf him. Haru's head leaned back against the tub and a contented sigh escaped his lips, the water just felt heavenly. He already felt ten times better with the stickiness of salt water being washed from his skin. His skin felt softer, his body was so relaxed in the water and it felt good to just lounge in the steamy bath.

All of the stress caused by his memory loss seemed to melt right off of his body and pool into the comforting heat of the water. He didn't know why he didn't remember how wonderful this felt, but he certainly wouldn't forget.

He did at least, remember how to wash himself, but for some reason the soaps and shampoos seemed a little strange. He figured it out fairly quickly, lathering himself with the soap and cloth, watching the little bubbles of soap cluster in the bath and mixed in a good amount of suds into his hair before slipping completely into the now-soapy water to wash the soap out. It all just felt _wonderful._ He felt so clean and refreshed and grateful that Rin suggested for him to take a bath.

A faint knock sounded at the door and Rin called "Are you alright in there?"

"Yes, thank you." Haru said before slipping his head under the water, causing little ripples in the tub.

"Okay just come out whenever you're ready. I found some clean clothes that should fit you better. Try not to get the floor too wet okay?" Rin laughed before walking away.

When Haru came out of the bathroom he was clean, refreshed and stark naked. Rin glanced over from where he was sitting on the futon and quickly rushed over to Haru with the clothes.

"Haru! You can't just walk around naked like that!"

"Why?" Rin kept his head turned away, he couldn't bring himself to look at Haru like this. It was just too tempting. Haru didn't realize how difficult it was for Rin not to reach out and caress every inch of smooth pale skin that was displayed shamelessly before him.

"Because…there's a time and a place to be naked. Just…not now." He glanced up into confused blue eyes and sighed. "I know this is all really new to you and I'm sorry you don't understand a lot of stuff. I mean, I don't understand much of what's going on at all. But we're in this together and we'll work it all out together, okay Haru?"

He nodded his head quietly and Rin helped him slide on the clean t-shirt and sweatpants. Rin grabbed the towel from Haru and fluffed up his hair like a little kid, laughing at the odd situation.

"Does that feel better?" A small smile formed on Haru's face and he nodded, Rin felt his pulse quicken at the sight. "Good! Now what about lunch? Are you hungry?" Blue eyes widened at the thought of food and Haru nodded his head quickly.

Haru was quickly catching on to the whole walking up and down the stairs thing. He was still a little unsteady, but Rin held his hand the whole way down to make sure he didn't stumble down and fall.

Rin sat Haru at the small table in his kitchen and dug through the fridge to find something that Haru would want.

_What do mermaids eat? Seaweed? _Rin couldn't decide whether to feed Haru his leftover takeout or just make a simple sandwich. _I need to go shopping_… Rin thought as he stared at the half empty container of rice in his hand.

"Uh, sorry I don't have very much. Would you like to look for yourself? I don't really know what you like to eat…" Haru stood up and peered into the brightly lit refrigerator while Rin opened a couple cabinets and stared up at the mostly empty boxes of cereal within them. When Rin glanced back over at Haru he realized that Haru had gotten the frozen mackerel out of his freezer was trying to bite at the wrapped fish.

"Oh god, Haru!" He quickly rushed over and took the frozen fish out of his hands. "What are you doing, goofball? You can't eat the mackerel like that!" Rin was laughing, but Haru looked disappointed and stared down at the fish. "You can have it, we just need to cook it first!" Rin grabbed a frying pan from the cabinet and placed it on his stove. "Did you want it any special way?" Haru stared impatiently as Rin unwrapped the fish and placed it into the pan to heat. He thought briefly about how he was hoping to put some spicy sauces on the mackerel or maybe get some hot peppers to cook it with, but he didn't want to make Haru eat something spicy if he didn't want it. "Is this all you want?" Haru nodded and watched the fish sizzle in the pan. _Of course mermaids like fish. What else would he like? _

"I guess we're gonna need to go to the market and pick up some more fish then, huh?" Haru's eyes widened and he saw a glimmer of excitement sparkle in the shiny blue depths. Rin laughed and grabbed a plate and fork for Haru to flip the fish onto. "Careful, it's hot." Haru took the plate over to the table and sat with Rin, already working to break the fish apart with his hands and stick the warm meat into his mouth eagerly.

"Okay I guess we're not using utensils today…We can work on that some other time." Rin laughed while Haru looked up at him in slight interest; only very slight. His attention primarily occupied by the tasty meal in front of him.

Once Haru finished picking as much meat as he could from the fish, Rin helped him wash up and cleaned up for him. It was a bit like having a little kid to look after but Rin didn't mind, it wasn't like it was the first time he had to look over a little kid; plus the fact that he could actually _be_ with Haru made it all worth it.

"Rin," Haru called softly from the table as Rin washed the dishes.

"Yeah?" Haru was looking down at the floor, wiggling his feet anxiously.

"Thanks…for everything. I know I'm kind of a burden." Rin shut the water off and walked over to the table with a sigh.

"You're more than welcome. And you're not a burden. I know that everything here is new for you. _It's okay_." He insisted, sitting in the chair across from him.

"But _why_ don't I understand anything? What's wrong with me?" Rin smiled softly and brushed the hanging, maroon bangs out of his face.

"Well, it's a little complicated…and you can't tell anyone why when I explain." Haru's mystified eyes just stared at him intently, waiting for him to continue. "I don't know how it got this way, but you were actually a mermaid. You remember what that is?" Blue eyes narrowed in thought and he shook his head, fluffy black hair swaying. "You lived in the ocean and had this beautiful long tail instead of legs. We…we were really _close_. I don't know what happened but I think you did something to turn yourself into a human to be here with me." Haru was staring down at his legs and wiggling his toes against the tile.

"That's why I can't walk?" Rin nodded in confirmation and let Haru think about that information. "And that's why I don't remember anything?"

"Well…Partially. Some of this stuff you've never seen before. This is your first time on land. But I don't know where all of your other memories went…" Rin sighed and looked up at Haru's delicate face, just wanting to reach out and kiss him. He wished so badly that Haru would regain all of his memories.

Haru stayed silent for a moment, staring down at his clothes legs and scrunching his eyebrows together in the way that Rin had taught him to do when he was young.

"Did I have a family?" Rin's mouth straightened into a thin line and maroon eyes looked compassionately into uncertain blue ones.

"You had something…I'm not exactly sure what, you never liked to talk about it. It made you upset to talk about your life in the ocean so there's not too much I can tell you." It really bothered Rin that he knew so little about Haru's past, especially since Haru himself was reliant on Rin for all of his memories.

"I didn't like it there?" Rin shook his head gently and sighed.

"I don't think you did. You told me that you hated it." Rin watched as Haru's eyelids began to droop slightly over glassy blue eyes and he stifled a small yawn. "Hey, I mean we don't have to figure all of this out today. We have all the time we need to figure out any of this. Would you like to take a nap? I'm sure this is all very exhausting for you." Haru just smiled and politely thanked Rin for the offer and was escorted back upstairs to the bedroom, sleepily clinging onto Rin's large hand. For some reason the supportive hand that always seemed to be there as he unsteadily stumbled around on his feet made Haru feel much safer.

"Well, just make yourself at home. Sleep as much as you like!" Rin smiled widely, pointy teeth gleaming. Haru looked over to the bed, still holding onto Rin's hand as he walked over to kneel on the mattress.

"Ah, you can let go if you want." Sleepy blue eyes stared up at Rin, his delicate hand still wrapped securely around Rin's.

"You're not sleeping?" Rin's pulse quickened at the thought and he knelt on the mattress beside Haru.

"Did you want me to?" Haru just pursed his lips and nodded, still holding Rin's hand firmly. Rin felt a blush rise to his cheeks and he nodded in agreement, folding back the heavy comforter and pulling it over the both of them. "I'll stay with you then." Before Rin could situate himself Haru snuggled his way closely to Rin, wrapping his arms and legs around the larger man and nestling his face against his chest without a word. For a moment Rin was completely stunned; but as Haru wiggled into the most comfortable napping position Rin felt himself ease into Haru's embrace. It only took a matter of minutes for Haru's breath to even out into a slow, steady rhythm. Having the Haru's warm, dry body to hold was a pleasant contrast to the cold, wet one from the night before- not that Rin didn't _like_ Haru when he was a mermaid.

It just seemed like for once, everything was beginning to fall into place.

~o~

* * *

_Thank you for reading and I hope you're enjoying so far! _

_Originally this was going to be one solid story arc, but there will be another at some point that will lead to a much longer fic than I originally intended!_

_Again, apologies for my upcoming lack of updating but I'll keep a solid eye on this and try to be as speedy as possible._

_As always, I love hearing your feedback and look forward to reading your reviews!_

_Until next time,_

_Chayin_


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